Los Angeles city prosecutor targets medical marijuana dispensaries

Photograph by Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

Organica Collective owner Jeff Joseph  is taken into custody by LAPD undercover officers after a raid by federal agents and Los Angeles police officers at his marijuana dispensary.

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The Los Angeles city attorney today escalated his bid to regain control over the city’s medical marijuana dispensaries, filing suit against three and sending letters to 18 to try to force them to stop selling the drug, alleging the outlets have repeatedly violated state law.

City Atty. Carmen Trutanich had pledged to take aggressive action to shut down illegal dispensaries. Hundreds of stores have opened in Los Angeles while the City Council debated an ordinance to regulate them. The council passed the law, but it still has not taken effect.

Trutanich launched his campaign with a single lawsuit against an Eagle Rock dispensary called Hemp Factory V. He recently won an injunction to force it to stop selling marijuana in a ruling that suggests he could see a similar result in the three new lawsuits. The judge in the case agreed with Trutanich that state law does not authorize dispensaries to sell the drug.

Today’s suits were filed against Organica, a dispensary that straddles Culver City and Los Angeles, and two locations of Holistic Caregivers in South Los Angeles.

Based on allegations of illegal activity that stem from undercover police buys, the city attorney’s office also sent letters to 18 landlords to warn them that the dispensaries renting their property are violating state and local drug laws and that the landlords could face a lawsuit.

The letters give the property owners 30 days to respond.

Organica, which was raided by police and federal agents Thursday, has been raided twice before. Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley had cited the dispensary as one he was considering filing charges against, but no charges have been filed. The owner, Jeff Joseph, closed the store after the second raid, but recently reopened. He could not be reached for comment, and the city attorney’s office said he was the subject of an arrest warrant for sales of marijuana.

The city attorney’s office said people who were stopped near Organica admitted picking up large quantities of marijuana from the dispensary to deliver to other dispensaries.

The two Holistic Caregivers stores were among seven owned by Virgil Grant that were the target of a multi-agency investigation. The city attorney’s office said law enforcement officers made undercover buys and found large quantities of marijuana products. Grant was convicted last year of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance.

-- John Hoeffel

Comments

[Marcia Twane]

What a waste of time, money and resources...just get it over with and legalize it so law enforcement can go after real criminals.

[No Pot Heads]

GREAT!!!! It is about time! City Atty. Carmen Trutanich investigate the pot stores in North Hollywood and the Valley, shut them down.

[A. J. McMau]

The city attorney must not have better things to do. Oh wait...I can think of plenty.

[Pssssht]

Haha...a state that can barely maintain its solvency contains a city that struggles with PROFOUND criminal issues. And that city's prosecutor chooses to make a name for himself by going after pot dealers who pay their landlords on-time, employ citizens of this struggling city, and sell only to those who are legally empowered to purchase their product.

What state law is this charlatan with a law degree talking about? And why is this even an issue now? I understand the city recently passed an ordinance banning dispensaries within a certain distance of schools; that's fine. The back-and-forth should have ended with a few laws to ensure that children don't walk out their doors and witness the sale of marijuana...this is the same logic behind limiting the number and location of alcohol vendors. Even if the number of dispensaries explodes to 1,000,000 within the city, the government has no case to make against a string of free-market enterprises empowered by both the California legislature in 1995 and the people of California in 2002.

The city has no mandate to do anything past that which it has already done. How do we get this meddling buffoon with a girl's name out of office again?

[JustSay'YES'toganja]

Well the battle rages on; but with no end in sight and really nothing being accomplished; what is the purpose of wasting all this money we don't have on a plant that recently has been shown to have benefits for people with pain?

All i am saying is; when you lie to the public about a substance; you lump it into the same category as heroin when it doesn't belong there; and then people try it out and realize you have lied to them, well the situation is what you get in LA.

Everyone who is not ignorant, knows that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol, tobacco, hard drugs, and synthetic pharaceutical pills combined. The only reason it can possibly be said to be a gateway drug, is because you have lumped it into the same category as 'hard' drugs; meaning that you can sometimes buy from someone who has a vast array of different substances.

Because the public has been deceived since day 1; you now have the situation at hand where you can buy it from a collective as long as you have a authorized 'recommendation' from a specialty Doctor. Just like you had a loop-hole to make marijuana illegal in the first place, now there is a loop hole to get medical marijuana.

Oh and I do have a legitimate reason for my medical marijuana card and that is because of chronic pain in my stomach from having pancreatitis. And if you looked at me, you would probably think 'this kid looks completely healthy'. Just because I am not old or not in a wheel-chair doesn't mean that I don't need weed because I do.

[x1134x]

These prosecutions and shutdowns won't stop the exponential growth of marijuana distribution. It won't stop anyone from obtaining marijuana whether legally or illegally. Its a waste of city time and resources to obtain zero results.

[sick and tired]

These people cant figure out, we have bigger problems in LA. This will result in lawsuits that LA cannot afford, and LA has a horrible track record when it comes to lawsuits, billions of dollars over the years. Oh by the way, your prisons are full, so when you incarcerate the pot head be sure to choose carefully which gang member you release due to over-crowding.

[Pssssht]

One more point that needs to be made: this blog post has intimated that the CUA does not provide for legal marijuana dispensaries, and at least one judge in Cali agrees. That is the biggest load of disingenuous garbage I've ever read. How can you claim that people with medical needs can legally smoke marijuana without providing a legal basis for the sale and distribution of marijuana? What, do Carmen and his hand-picked judge think that the government should be the sole vendor of marijuana? Forget that crap, I'm not going to a government store to buy weed when, at any moment, the feds can nullify the state's laws and sue for my personal information, after which some idiot judge invokes the Supremacy Clause to that end. I want my dispensary fully privatized.

If that happens, I'll do exactly what idiots like Carmen have forced people to do for years: buy my product illegally. If that's what the city wants, cool. Limiting the number of dispensaries has the same effect as prohibition. If I live in Van Nuys, why drive to one of four dispensaries in downtown when I can buy from the local gang?

I'd love to see the LA Times come out in favor of the CUA and common sense.

[Glockshooter]

Hurray for Carmen- although I didn't know it, he apparently has solved all the crimes in LA, all the cold case files have been put to bed and now he can go after the next level of scofflaws- retailers selling a legal product that customers actually want. Excellent use of your hourly wage.

[Rafael Noble]

In a city that is contemplating crippling 3,000 families via layoff, that resides in a state whose elected officials have mismanaged billions of taxpayers dollars, how can the City Attorney justify expending more needed resources on prosecuting Medical Marijuana outlets? Even if some so-called patients are not truly in need of marijuana for medical reasons, what is the harm to our society? Each time City Atty. Carmen Trutanich, his deputies and police officers raid a dispensary they pass multiple liquor stores and cigarette retailers. Even if the AMA and other medical organizations are mistaken about the medical benefits of marijauana, there is no dispute about the death and misery inflicted by the so-called "legal" drugs.

What in heaven's name are we doing? Mr. Trutanich there is surely plenty of work to do in order to "serve and protect" the citizens of Los Angeles, but I am afraid that spending time and money on "enforcing" archaic and questionable laws is just another example that the people that are elected to serve our best interest, don't have a clue!

[Ferrari Lover]

With the city facing 4000 lay offs, this is what they want to concentrate on? I would bet my car that if this overpaid underworked City Attorney got a little kick back they would be pushing to keep these open! When is the last time someone came off of a marijuana high and decided to kill someone for more weed? It doesn't happen people. Alcohol kills more people every year than pot does. Carmen, get a clue-The more potheads there are out there, the better your city looks because less violent crime. You would definitely boost the local economy specifically the local dispensaries and restaurants! ;) Also, if you de-criminalize it, you'd be able to clean up your pathetic jail system. Instead of early releases for the rapists, murderers, child molesters and illegals, give an early release to the guy who got busted with a couple joints in his pocket. ---- This would be a great city if the friggin douchebag politicians wouldn't get in the way.

[who cares]

Get a Life.. Go bust real criminals.. Why dont you go arrest the guy at 711 selling cigs.. His product is killing people..

[Otis]

Oh great - get really tough on crime, Carmen - this marijuana scourge is sinking the city into the abyss. Fix this, and all is well. I'm so glad I did not vote for this misguided bureaucrat. Carmen, you could be great - instead, you're yesterday's news. Not good for Los Angeles. Hello, 1937.

[Eric of Reseda]

It's time to start standing up to Trutanich and all these idiots that champion the criminalization of pot. Cigarettes kill 500,000 Americans a year, alcohol a ton of folks too. Properly administered, legally obtained and medically prescribed prescription drugs kill tons more folks than people realize. Not ONE case of pot overdose on the books, and TONS of evidence to show it's benefits. These uneducated morons that prosecute pot stores are the real criminals. They eagerly support the use and dispensing of FAR deadlier substances. It's just thagt those substances are the goods of the tobacco and liquor companies. Do we REALLY want to force pot commerce back into the hands of real criminals?!? AND, pay for the policing of that?

[Xian]

What a waste of city resources and the time of our police and elected officials.

It's not as if the City isn't reeling from fiscal problems: To wit, the L.A. Times front page reads this evening as: "L.A. council orders 3,000 more city jobs eliminated."

Instead of fighting these dispensaries, wouldn't it be wiser to incorporate and regulate them (while still reducing the troublemakers in the bunch)? The city needs revenue, and taxing marijuana would be the City's best bet to get instant revenue to close the budget gap and save much needed city services.

But no, it's easier to make your political bones this way I guess... For Trutanich and Cooley this is simply a way for them to make headlines (rather small ones in the Times, heheh) for their next move in their political careers... they don't really care about finding solutions, that much is for sure.

[Joemamabush]

Funny how the police use weed tracker and other websites to locate then suvailence or (sabrosa) these places. While on the other side of town vicodin and other favs. are in aboudance. Come on D.A. go after the rouge pill places to show health care in a new direction. Prevention? I watched two friends one smoked pot while the other died useing vicodin. The pot head still lives to this day even after ten years after the death. Amazing? So when are you going after the pills D.A. ??

[George Rubio]

Nooch,

Don't you have better things to do? There are many maniacs running around LA, Pedro, and Wilmas shooting and robbing people. Get your priorities straight.

[Joemamabush]

But although pot will be legal by next year. Then all you belly achers will need to find new villans...//,,,.

[johnny1]

the city of LA cant afford to shut all the shops down

They are broke , budget cuts

this is going to cost the city a lot of money in the long run.

way to go - more unemployment in LA

[Pete D]

Good! It's about time. Hey Trutanich, come over to my neighborhood and crack down on these sleazy drug dealers who run the dispensaries here. They couldn't care less about compassion for the sick, and they definitely couldn't care less about our community. They are making $10,000 a day, while our neighborhood gets trashed by teenage stoners. Start the raids now!

[laurrin]

Go Carmen, The marijuana dispenseries are breaking the law, and their products are being marketed to teenagers by their customers who want to make a buck. Marijuana harms the brain, and is not being used just for medicinal purposes.
they also attract crime,because there are a lot of robberies at dispenseries. Get rid of them now!

[EJ]

If the dispensaries were violating the guidelines that most responsible dispensaries are following that's one thing, but if they're just out there targeting dispensaries because they're easy targets it's quite another and shame on them. Going after real criminals would benefit LA more than targeting dispensaries.

The scientific evidence is totally out there that shows that cannabis has real medicinal value and should no longer be considered a schedule 1 drug. http://bit.ly/9XCmXc

C'mon Trutanich and Co.. get with the program and stop your silly obsession with dispensaries already!

Hopefully the wise will prevail in November and finally get reasonable laws on the books!

[Harry P.]

Isn't our city broke?

Glad they have their priorities straight.......

[Paul]

The Times should do an investigation into how much money is being spent on this anti-marijuana campaign, including what I assume is a very impressive salary for Mr. Trutanich. It's time to start cutting the city budget, and first on the list are useless task forces.

[Warren]

According to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ), the arrest rate for all offenses in California sank by 40% from 1990 to 2008, with arrests for rape and murder falling by more than 60% each.

Drug possession arrests for everything but marijuana collectively fell by nearly 30% in the same period. Meanwhile, arrests for marijuana possession have skyrocketed -- up 127%. This rise in marijuana arrests is the ultimate outlier.